solar energy is that it does not have to be gathered or refined like fossil fuels. Erwin says that unlike its fossil fuel counterparts, sunlight is readily available and does not need to be explored, mined, extracted, transported, combusted, transmitted, or imported, (1) making it the cleanest, cheapest to maintain, and most abundant energy source on the planet.One way to harness energy from the sun is to use sunlight to produce heat. Fogel states that Solar One, the biggest solar power station in the entire world, collects sunlight using 1,818 giant twenty-three-foot square mirrors in the southern California desert. Solar One uses the mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a water tank to make steam for generating electricity to power over forty thousand homes (62). Sunlight directed by mirrors can produce heat.Just as mirrors are used to produce heat, photovoltaic cells are used to produce electricity. According to the web site Photovoltaics, these photovoltaic cells are made of semiconductor materials (usually silicon) and absorb the photons in sunlight and release electrons. These electrons are captured to produce an electric current (2). Because of Photovoltaics, energy can be produced for free during daylight. The site Photovoltaics also states that we can run the current to a battery and store it until it is needed (2). Therefore, we can use the electricity created during the day to power appliances at night. Wind can also be used to produce electricity. Fogel says that big windmills will make a big difference in providing energy. Windmills may not be able to replace all the energy produced by oil, but these seemingly outdated devices can cut significantly into the amount of oil the U.S. must import (70). By using this clean, efficient source of energy, the United States will cut down on oil imports from the Middle East and help preserve a habitable environment. According to Popular Science, even the most efficient wind f...
